Best Practices
Right to Know
Users have a right to know exactly what they are signing up for when deciding to use a product. Make it clear and specific.
Data Transparency
Communicate exactly what data is being collected and why it’s being collected.
Access to Data
Give users access to the data being collected on them and ensure it's easy to find.
The Right to be Forgotten
Provide users the ability to permanently delete their data and ensure it's easy to find.
Avoid Misdirection
We can avoid misdirecting users by following usability best practices, maintaining consistent UI, ensuring links and buttons are clear and recognizable, and not disguising ads as content.
Easy Exit
Ensure users can easily find the option to unsubscribe or delete their account if they choose to do so.
Designers need to insist on transparency about users’ privacy settings, and solutions that allow users to opt in, rather than opting out of data collection. This forces our organizations to justify the need for data rather than just collecting it because they can.
Further Reading
It’s Time for Digital Products to Start Empowering Us
Jesse Weaver
Move Slowly and Fix Things
Jonas Downey
Start Designing for Transparency
Sheryl Cababa
If You Want to Be Creative, Don’t Be Data Driven
Bill Pardi
Ethical Design: The Practical Getting-Started Guide
Trine Falbe
Designing Ethically Pt.1
Kat Zhou
Dark Patterns in UX: How Designers Should be Responsible for Their Actions
Arushi Jaiswal
Ethical Design: The Practical Getting-Started Guide
Trine Falbe
Stop Calling These Dark Design Patterns or Dark UX — These are Simply A**hole Designs
Flavio Lamenza
Why Dark Patterns Won’t Go Away
John Brownlee
Dark Patterns are Designed to Trick You
Yael Grauer